Exige V6 Upgrade to 380 (Cup?) looks

[Christian H]

Hello guys,

first post for me after reading so many topics in this forum.
So first of all, sorry for my bad English. I´ll do my very best

My little upgrade story started in November 2014 when I finally got my Ardent red Exige V6 from Lotus Munic.

Spec included aircon, red stitching, rear parking sensors and softtop etc. I really loved the colour and still do.

 

It was a real step up from my previous car (Z4m Roadster) and I´ve driven it for some years without changing anything but the suspension setup.
I did some trackdays and was a bit disappointed by the understeer compared to other cars i drove, whereas the overall performance of the car was (and is) still way above my skills.

First time I removed the roof was a great experience:

 

Recently i thought about upgrading to a 380 or saving money for a 410 but finally, after reading hours and hours in this forum, asking friends and Lotus fellows decided to keep the car and modify it.

In my opinion, the best looking exige of them all is the 380 cup, so this will be my target to achieve. In addition, I really love trackdays and of course, all parts added should also optimize laptimes or at least don´t worsen them.
I don´t want to use only Lotus parts because of the heavily price tag but I will if necessary.

Since new I already did some upgrades, most of the parts are from KomoTec and I really can recommend the company.
I will do several posts for every upgrade I´ve done so you can follow the upgrades step by step.
Really enjoyed reading the other upgrade topics here and just hope you´ll have a good time reading and maybe some inspiration for your own cars.

Edited April 28, 2019 by Christian Hochreuther

[Christian H]

First small updates I did were (as mentioned) changing geo setup of the standard suspension (no race pack so really soft) which already made a big impact.
At this point I got from 0 degrees of camber on the front axle to about -1 degrees. After some laps on track it turned out that I really had to learn a lot more but I still had fun on track. Understeer was already better, but still present.

 

After some sets of Pirelli Corsa, the next thing I changed was tires. Changed to Kumho V70 and loved them but they wore really fast so the next thing was upgrading to Cup2s. By that time, the 380 was already in my heart so I decided to change to the original forged rims. Just love the look and also reduced the understeer a bit more but I  was still not happy with the ride.

Edited April 28, 2019 by Christian Hochreuther

[vd9]

Very nice car, Christian!  Let's not forget, red are faster from the factory... 

[Mattmahope]

Lovely car @Christian Hochreuther! My 350 Sport is also Ardent Red and I really like the colour, especially when combined with the “black pack” that I have.

[RoflOnMyWaffle]

My local dealer has a "unique" Exige S at the moment, it's been upgraded to look like a 380 - which I wanted to do over time. I can't stand the odd lights on the newer Exiges.

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/lotus/exige-s3/unique-exige-v6s/9650820

 

Whether it makes financial sense to do this is a different story, but if you intend to keep the car long term it's fine! 

[stephenwhyte]

A couple of pics to show the Cup 380 in Red.......👌

[Christian H]

8 hours ago, Mattmahope said:

Lovely car @Christian Hochreuther! My 350 Sport is also Ardent Red and I really like the colour, especially when combined with the “black pack” that I have.

Red = + 20 ps

 

8 hours ago, RoflOnMyWaffle said:

My local dealer has a "unique" Exige S at the moment, it's been upgraded to look like a 380 - which I wanted to do over time. I can't stand the odd lights on the newer Exiges.

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/lotus/exige-s3/unique-exige-v6s/9650820

 

Whether it makes financial sense to do this is a different story, but if you intend to keep the car long term it's fine! 

I think it wouldn´t make sense to upgrade the car with Lotus parts. My plan is to use mainly other parts and maybe in the end I can do a small calculation what it cost me + difference to buying just a 380

[RoflOnMyWaffle]

With all the hassles I've had with getting parts to fit, as well as others having similar problems, I'd just buy the 380. 

[Christian H]

So back to business.

Next topic on my list was a gearbox oil cooler because I had some moments where i thought the gears won´t change.. Lotus refused my guarantee application so I thought I had to do something myself.
I went to KomoTec again, just got no pics of that upgrade 😑. I think it really helps on track when temperatures rise.

After some more trackdays my front break disc cracked and i thought it was time for another upgrade. Got the KoBra Brakes for the front axle and PFC pads all around. Really great, recommend it for track use but sqeaks really a lot in town.. Love that sqeaks too If my rear discs fail again I will upgrade them also, couldn´t think of better breaks, even saw them on Cup Porsches..

[Christian H]

50 minutes ago, RoflOnMyWaffle said:

With all the hassles I've had with getting parts to fit, as well as others having similar problems, I'd just buy the 380. 

As I said i really thought about it for a long time and from my point of view there are some arguments for upgrading.

• I will mainly rely on KomoTec and have already spend really much money on upgrading the car so a 380 will probably not be faster.
• Cheapest 380 here in germany is still about 79.000 € so I can spend more than 20k on upgrades till I reach the point were a 380 would be cheaper.
• Also I hate the 6800 rev limit and a EX460 upgrade would still be needed on the 380.. I will do this as the very last step I think.
• Next thing is: There is neither 380 in a bright colour for sale nor a carbon grey one (I love the looks of carbon grey 380 Cup with yellow accents soo much)
• Even a 380 would require some updates, some of them don´t even have the track pack..
• Often, upgrades like the breaks or battery etc. can be achieved just when the original parts start to fail, for me thats a bit of a win win situation if you know what i mean.
• Last thing is: I would cry if someone drives away with my loved car... maybe a new 380 or 410 would ease the pain but i still remember when i sold my Z4M and that was no good day for me..

 

Edited April 29, 2019 by Christian Hochreuther

[NW76]

You are going the right route ... I can say that, because I am already all the way trough and even further 👍😉😎

 

 

[chumaxa]

How noisy is the gearbox cooler on the road ? I had a good laugh when I asked Lotus about the 380 cup spoiler price ...

[Bravo73]

34 minutes ago, chumaxa said:

How noisy is the gearbox cooler on the road ?

Why should it be noisy? It’s just an extra radiator for the gearbox oil. 

[GFWilliams]

10 minutes ago, Bravo73 said:

Why should it be noisy? It’s just an extra radiator for the gearbox oil. 

The pump would be the noisy bit.

[chumaxa]

 

2 minutes ago, Bravo73 said:

Why should it be noisy? It’s just an extra radiator for the gearbox oil. 

Isn't it working with a pump ? 

[Christian H]

I didnt recognise any sound from the gearbox cooler pump. The v6 itself is much louder. 😉

The gearbox cooler is installed on the right side behind the air intake / sidepod and there is no need for a radiator. 

Edited April 30, 2019 by Christian H

[Christian H]

First decision has to be made. Should I order the carbon front access panel with the double Ardent Red stripe (like the 380 cup) or just without stripes?
If my car was carbon grey, I´d definitely go for the stripes in yellow but maybe for a red car it´s just too much color?

Picture just for comparison, hope it´s ok to post it.

Edited May 1, 2019 by Christian H

[Kristof Thys]

@Christian H here some inspiration done by my friend DixieV6 on the stripes:

 

 

He also has the carbon tail gate; forged wheels, tail diffuser wings, scooped roof, etc.  Check out his posts.  If you need more pics I can drive up to him and take them  🙂

 

Edited May 1, 2019 by Kristof Thys

[Christian H]

 

2 hours ago, Kristof Thys said:

@Christian H here some inspiration done by my friend DixieV6 on the stripes:

 

 

He also has the carbon tail gate; forged wheels, tail diffuser wings, scooped roof, etc.  Check out his posts.  If you need more pics I can drive up to him and take them  🙂

 

oh great thanks! Would love a comparison picture against the original one. Think I´ll buy it without stripes.

[Christian H]

Every day a new update:

The next obvious thing was to change dampers to Nitron 1Way. They work really well on track but make some noises on road.. maybe I will upgrade to 2way or 3way Nitrons in the future. Playing around with damper setups on track is real fun as you can see the results right after the next stint.

Comparison to the original damper (no Race pack)

At the day of installation, we also weighted in the car with absolutely full fuel tank and forged wheels. I think Lotus claimed 1170 kg for the V6 so it´s almost to the point.
Adjusted the corner weights and ride height after this picture.
 

 

And the final result:

 

Edited May 1, 2019 by Christian H

[Christian H]

Best choice was to go to KomoTec and set up the ride properly, currently no more understeer and I´m really really happy with how the car behaves.

After removing the ABS shim and setup ride height, max camber in front was about 2.1 degree. For me it´s almost perfect for the moment but improvements are always possible

Couldn´t upload more pictures right now.. Is the Max total size of pictures overall for all my replys? Is there an option to remove older pictures? Haven`t found it yet..

Edited May 1, 2019 by Christian H

[Christian H]

Good news from eltech. There's a new cup 380 style wing for sale. Looks great on the first picture. 

[Mattmahope]

28 minutes ago, Christian H said:

Good news from eltech. There's a new cup 380 style wing for sale. Looks great on the first picture. 

That sounds interesting!  Is there a picture available?

I think that there is also a new wing from Reverie, which looks good:

https://www.reverie.ltd.uk/lotus-exige-380-s3-v6-carbon-fibre-rear-wing-kit-curved-225mm-chord-exige-380-style-end-plates/R01SB0494

 

[Christian H]

4 hours ago, Mattmahope said:

That sounds interesting!  Is there a picture available?

I think that there is also a new wing from Reverie, which looks good:

https://www.reverie.ltd.uk/lotus-exige-380-s3-v6-carbon-fibre-rear-wing-kit-curved-225mm-chord-exige-380-style-end-plates/R01SB0494

 

Dont like the reverie thing somehow.. 

There is a picture of the eltech wing on Facebook but im not sure if i can post it here. Couldnt see a difference to the cup380 wing except from the colour. 

[alias23]

12 hours ago, Christian H said:

Dont like the reverie thing somehow.. 

There is a picture of the eltech wing on Facebook but im not sure if i can post it here. Couldnt see a difference to the cup380 wing except from the colour. 

Look at the mounts!